By Michelle Carpenter, NBCT, EdS
“Let’s leave room for the magic!” her daughter said as they planned their Patagonian vacation. They were discussing their lodging… should they book for the whole trip or for just the first couple of nights, and made the decision made to wing it, to explore and book once they got there.
When sharing this plan with friends, there was a pattern to their responses. “You are going so far away, to such a remote place… don’t you want to have everything arranged in advance?” It can be a scary thing, leaving room for the magic. It’s much safer to plan everything in advance, to limit the variables and control the situation.
However, with the risk and fear that leaving room for the magic brings, there is a heightened sense of fun and of unexpected possibilities. We let go of preconceived notions of what things should look like. We trust in a supernatural source to deliver something so amazing that we wouldn’t even have thought to ask for it. Surrendering the illusion of control can be tricky, especially for those of us who like to think we know what is coming next.
In Patagonia, the magic provided us with great lodging, new friends, amazing views of stunning mountain peaks. It also delivered a boat ride to a calving glacier, lamb on a spit, delicious Malbecs and more. Surely more than what we would have experienced should we have planned our vacation without the guidance of the magic.
So, then, is leaving room for the magic just a way of vacationing? It has become our modus operandi not just for traveling, but also as a way of life. We remind ourselves that we need to let go a bit and leave room for the magic… and to expect surprises that delight us.
Michelle Carpenter, Adelante! Program Director, Pathways2Teaching Instructor, Boulder High School.